Author Morven Westfield comments on writing, vampires, the wildlife outside her window, and the writing life.

Monday, March 21, 2016

World Backup Day - March 31

Don't be an April Fool.

Be prepared. Back up your files on March 31st.

What a tagline! It's so apt! With all the methods of backing up, there's no reason not to, yet I can't tell you how many writers have told me they've lost irreplaceable works in progress. I'm sure it doesn't stop with them; how many musicians, visual artists, and photographers have suffered the same fate?

World Backup Day "is a day for people to learn about the increasing role of data in our lives and the importance of regular backups." The web site quotes some scary statistics: 30% of people have never backed up, 1 in 10 computers are infected with viruses each month, and 113 phones are stolen every minute.

Add to that the number of hard disk failures and accidents (dropping a laptop, spilling coffee on a laptop, dropping your cell phone in the toilet, tripping over a power cord and pulling your computer off your desk) and it gets scarier. Add to that home break-ins and natural disasters like floods, fires, hurricanes, and tornadoes. As they say on the web site, "What would you do if you lost everything?"

Don't know how? They even provide instructions for backing up to a USB drive (for Windows and Macs) or online here.

In my humble opinion, to really be safe, you need to back up somewhere online because if natural disasters hit or someone breaks into your house and finds your USB sticks, it doesn't matter how many backups you have; they're all going bye-bye.

Can't afford an online backup service right now? They even provide suggestions for free places to back up. You could also try making an extra backup stick and leaving it with a friend. Just make sure that it's password-protected in case it gets stolen from your friend's house.

World Backup Day has a pledge. I'll be signing it.* Won't you?

*I'll be signing it, but I may cheat and back up the day before, just to avoid internet congestion.